Kojirō Shinomiya
Kojirō Shinomiya (四宮 小次郎 Shinomiya Kojirō) is a 79th Generation Tōtsuki Academy Alumnus and a previous 1st seat of the Elite Ten Council. He is a world renowned chef as the first Japanese man to earn the Pluspol award. He is also the main protagonist of the spin-off manga, Shokugeki no Soma: L'étoile. Appearance Kojirō has pink-colored hair that comes to his neck, with bangs parted to the left. He also has a prominent undercut on his right side. His left ear is pierced and he wears glasses. Back when he used to be in Tōtsuki, Kojirō looked relatively the same except that he did not wear glasses. Personality Kojirō is an extremely uptight person due to the people of France ostracizing him because he was Japanese and belittling his dream to earn the Pluspol Award. This caused him to become a much more ruthless individual who does not tolerate anyone from going against what he says. He flatly denied any sort of input into his dishes, feeling that as the head chef, no one had any authority to change his recipes. He has always been a smug individual even since his Tōtsuki days as shown when he rubbed in his higher grade in Italian Cuisine to Fuyumi Mizuhara whose forte was Italian Cuisine. He is also very cocky, constantly harassing Megumi during their Unofficial Shokugeki, deeming her a "dunce". He hates it when people waste time and is quickly annoyed the minute he catches his employees not working. In reality, Kojirō is a caring and friendly individual but his more abrasive nature became more pronounced after he graduated. According to Gin Dōjima, because he achieved his dream of earning the Pluspol, he began to stagnate, afraid to show that he lost his reason to cook. After the unofficial Shokugeki during the Training Camp, Kojirō returned to his former self, welcoming input from his workers but still just as smug as before. History Kojirō was a typical child who often got into fights with other boys. His mother usually scolds him when he did so but she never blamed him for what he did. She always brought him home to make him his favorite meals. Kojirō's ambitions began when he had just entered elementary school. Although his family was poor, they saved enough money to eat at a French cuisine restaurant. It was at this restaurant that Kojirō saw his mother smile so brightly in a long time. Kojirō resolved to learn all he could about French cuisine so he could make his mother happy. Life in the Tōtsuki Culinary Academy Eventually, Kojirō entered Tōtsuki Culinary Academy as a part of the 79th Generation alongside Fuyumi Mizuhara. During his time there, his record and performance was impeccable as he earned an "A+" for an Italian Cuisine assignment when the 79th Generation Italian Cusine expert, Fuyumi, earned only an "A". Nevertheless, Kojirō had a somewhat friendly relationship with her and 80th Generation Alumni Hinako Inui and Donato Gotōda. During his time there he eventually held the 1st Seat of the Elite Ten Council with Fuyumi in the 2nd Seat. He was among the few members of his class to graduate along with Fuyumi. At their graduation ceremony, he announced that he will be moving to France with the goal of earning the Pluspol award, a highly coveted French Cuisine award. Hinako and Fuyumi expressed their concern due to his abrasive tendencies, much to his annoyance. During the grand opening of Hitoshi Sekimori's restaurant, Kojirō was challenged by Hinako who could not accept his dream, to an unofficial Shokugeki. In a decisive and one-sided result, Kojirō won the match. On the day of his departure, Hinako, Fuyumi, and Donato wished Kojirō well as he left Japan to achieve his dream. Achieving Dreams Upon arrival in France, Kojirō immediately set off to work to make a name for himself. Though he performed well for the first few initial months, it became apparent that he was facing adversity from the people there who belittled his ambitions. After his chefs began to disobey his judgments, Kojirō reached a period of depression due to the rapid decrease in work quality and positive feedback. It was at this time that he changed his entire work ethic and treatment of his chefs. He fired his insubordinate chefs and became a ruthless head chef, intimidating his workers to obey his judgments. Because of this, Kojirō finally emerged out of his slump and the people of France began to revere him as a French Cuisine genius. Finally, after many years of hard work, Kojirō was awarded the Pluspol award. Plot Tōtsuki Friendship and Rapport Training Camp Main article: Training Camp Arc Kojirō was recruited as an instructor for the 92nd Tōtsuki Generation's Tōtsuki Friendship and Rapport Training Camp at the Tōtsuki Resort. He, along with his fellow Alumni, were first introduced by Roland Chapelle in the main hall of the hotel. Upon entering the room, Kojirō immediately picked up a scent and was about to say something to Sōma Yukihira but, at the last second, apologized to him and told the boy standing to his right that he was expelled. When questioned behind his reasoning, he stated the scent of his hairdressing product could hinder the aroma of the dishes. When the student protested, Kojirō immediately silenced him. Gin Dōjima used this as an example for the tone of the camp, as the alumni had the authority to "fire" any students who did not meet the alumni's expectations. With the rules set, the training camp began. At the end of the first assignment, Kojirō scolded Hinako Inui over the phone for being late to bring her group back to the hotel. Second Day Main article: [[Yukihira-Tadokoro Vs. Shinomiya ''Shokugeki]]'' By the second day, Kojirō had already expelled over thirty students. Among the students in his second day class was Sōma and Megumi Tadokoro. For his assignment, Kojirō tasked them with cooking a Nine Vegetable Terrine, but cryptically told the students to treat each other as enemies since they were to work alone. Sōma passed the assignment with little difficulty. Eventually Megumi finished, but when she presented the dish, Kojirō fired her because she had altered the recipe without his permission. Sōma faulted Kojirō for the bad cauliflower and that Megumi was worthy to stay. Kojirō did not take Sōma's defiance well and threatened to expel him. Much to his surprise, Kojirō was challenged by Sōma to a Shokugeki to rescind Megumi's expulsion. Though Kojirō refused as per the rules of a Shokugeki, Gin overheard the challenge and made an unofficial Shokugeki, forcing Kojirō to comply. After completing their afternoon task, Megumi and Sōma arrived at the basement kitchen in the Resort, where Kojirō and the other Alumni were waiting. Using the remaining vegetables from that day, Gin declared that their dishes will use them as a basis and added one last condition to the Shokugeki, in which Megumi had to be the head chef and Sōma the sous-chef. With the conditions set, Kojirō began to cook and threw some insults at Sōma, saying that his future is solely in the hands of Megumi, whom he called a dunce. Kojirō presented his dish first, a Chou Farci. As the judges ate his dish, the reception is overwhelmingly positive. Noting the difficulty using savoy cabbage, the dish illustrated how Kojirō got his title as the Légumes Magician. However, Gin was left unsatisfied as the dish Kojirō gave was not from his specialties. Kojirō smugly replied that he was simply holding back because his challengers were nothing more than students. When it was Megumi's turn to present, her Rainbow Terrine received praise from the judges. After eating both dishes, the judges were given a coin to represent a vote. One by one, they placed their coin on the plate of the chef who they felt cooked the better dish. In a decisive and one-sided result, Kojirō won the match. Kojirō mocked both Sōma and Megumi as he prepared to depart. However Gin unexpectedly placed a coin in Megumi's dish, much to everyone's surprise. When Kojirō asked Gin about his impromptu vote, he tossed a coin to him, asking if he has been stagnant all the time. Kojirō recalled his graduation when he declared that he would be the first Japanese chef to receive the Pluspol medal, a prestigious medal in French cuisine, and the hardships he faced on his way there. Gin further noted that Kojirō has not figured what to do now after his ultimate goal had been achieved, which caused him to refrain from showing one of his specialized dishes to hide his standstill. Enraged, Kojirō responded to Gin for pointing his flaws better than himself, only to be halted by Gin who made him eat Megumi's dish to prove his point. Kojirō reluctantly ate the dish and nitpicked the dish's faults at first. In mid-sentence of his critique, he was compelled to take another bite. Megumi's dish pierced his cold heart and reminded him of his childhood. Tears fell from his eyes as he was reminded of the love and warmth given to him by his mother. Kojirō unconsciously dropped the coin onto Megumi's plate. Gin asked Kojirō if he had ever considered such hospitality during his ascension to the medal. As Kojirō realized that he had been cooking "alone", Hinako added one last coin to Megumi's plate, rendering the duel a tie. Gin left the final decision to Kojirō, who accepted that Megumi's hospitality was worth keeping in Tōtsuki Culinary Academy. The Final Day On the fifth day, Kojirō and the other Alumni prepared a lavish banquet for the 628 students who passed the hellish training camp. The next day, Kojirō packed up his things and prepared to depart. In the hotel lobby, he met and wished both Megumi and Sōma well during their life at Tōtsuki as he returned to France in order to pursue his new goal in life, earn a 3 Michelin Star rating for his restaurant. Just as he was about to tell them something, he was stopped by the other Alumni, thinking he was recruiting them to work for his restaurant. As Kojirō left, he gave one last look at Sōma, sensing his potential to become something great at Tōtsuki Academy. The 43rd Annual Tōtsuki Autumn Election Main article: Tōtsuki Autumn Election Arc Months later, Kojirō was invited by Gin to see Sōma's official Shokugeki in the Semifinals. However, Kojirō declined due to his busy schedule in his restaurant. Before he hung up the phone, Kojirō told Gin to send his regards to Hinako and Fuyumi who were both judges for the Semifinals. When Senzaemon Nakiri made his opening speech in the lobby of the ''Shokugeki'' Arena, Kojirō and other Alumni was pictured as a source of inspiration and endeavor to the students of the 92nd generation. Then, the preliminary round began. Stagiaire Main article: Stagiaire Arc Kojirō was back in Japan, opening a new branch of his restaurant, Shino's Tokyo. During this time, the students of the 92nd Generation was participating in the Stagiaire event and Gin personally put his new restaurant as a Stagiaire location for a student to complete their training, much to his annoyance. To make matters worse, the student assigned to his restaurant was none other than Sōma. Cooking Style *'French Cuisine' - Kojirō's main forte is French Cuisine with an emphasis on the creative usage of vegetables. He tends to use in Légumes Oubliés, root vegetables, which are very common in Japanese cuisine but not so much in French Cuisine. This allowed him to cook french dishes in a different dimension than traditional dishes. With these skills he easily attained the 1st Seat of the Elite Ten Council, graduated from Tōtsuki, and eventually moved to France. It was his dream to earn the Pluspol Award, a highly coveted and respected French Cuisine award and was the first Japanese man to win the said award, a testament to his true skill. However, he is not limited to just French Cuisine as he has shown to be well versed enough to cook an Italian dish to beat even Fuyumi, who was an Italian Cuisine expert. Dishes Original Dishes *'Chou Farci' - Kojirō's choice for his unofficial Shokugeki ''against Sōma Yukihira and Megumi Tadokoro. Using savoy cabbage to wrap the chicken breast, the new take on the standard Chou Farci shows the prowess of the Légumes Magician. A single bite will make one feel like Kojirō had casted a spell on them! *'Tomates Farcies' - A dish made by Kojirō in a wager against some land sharks that terrorized "Marché (Market) Bastille" in Paris. Using tomato as the main ingredient, the dish is stuffed with meat or vegetables along with different variations of spices, herbs and parsley which can concentrate and support the flavor of the tomato. *'Quiche De Légumes Oubliés' - A dish made by Kojirō when he decided to cook a meal for Sōma and his kitchen staff during Sōma's Stagiaire in Shino's Tokyo. It utilizes burdock root, an uncommon ingredient in French cuisine. Clubs *'Elite Ten Council' - Kojirō was previously the 1st seat of the Elite Ten Council. Cooking Duel Records Unofficial ''Shokugeki (*) This is Kojirō's first known Shokugeki in the academy. (**) This is Kojirō's first post-graduate Shokugeki after his graduation from the academy. (***) Kojirō originally won this Shokugeki until Gin decided to vote for Sōma and Megumi. Kojirō was given a coin, which he dropped into Megumi's plate after eating her dish. Inui added one last vote, resulting in a tie. This however caused the Shokugeki to become unofficial. Trivia *Kojirō ranked 5th in the first popularity poll with 487 votes. *Kojirō (小次郎) means Little second son. Shinomiya (四宮) means Four palaces. Navigation zh:四宮小次郎 Category:Characters Category:Male Characters Category:Tōtsuki Academy Alumni Category:Chef Category:79th Generation Students Category:Judge Category:Elite Ten Council Category:Tōtsuki Autumn Election Participants Category:Shokugeki Participants